Adding modern tunes to your classic car

Let’s be honest, that classic am radio in your car just isn’t cutting it. With today’s technology, there are tons of options to choose from when deciding how to upgrade that classic car stereo. Many people, including myself, opt to buy a modern radio and mount it under the dash, or even better, hidden in the glove box. That was fine for a while but as I was putting the rest of the interior back to original, that modern radio was quickly becoming an eyesore. I didn’t want to put the radio in the glovebox because given the size of my car, trying to swap CD’s or change settings would have me out of the driver’s seat.

The best option for me was to go with a modern radio, in the stock location. This means, no cutting the dash. The version I went with was the Hermosa, by RetroSound. It has all the bells and whistles, comes with a mounting kit just for my car, and to the unsuspecting looky loo, it passes for an original. It has as many USB inputs as you’ll ever need, connects to my phone via bluetooth, and can wirelessly stream music to my heart’s delight. This particular one is going in my 65 Impala SS, but the same concept applies to nearly every classic and muscle car.

Also, lucky for me that I had an extra dash bezel to practice the install on.

I’ll be able to retain my original knobs too!

Once I get it in the car, I’ll update with a wiring recap as well as a demo video! Stay tuned!

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